Sentence transformations
Rewrite the sentence by using the words in bold so that it has a similar meaning to the first.
1) This tea is so hot that I can’t drink it. too
2) I tried to reach Jack by phone but the line was engaged. through
3) Your room needs cleaning. cleaned
4) He started playing rugby 5 years ago. has
5) The author has just published a new novel. out
6) The course will take us six months to complete. completed
7) Pictures are not allowed to be taken inside the museum. mustn’t
8) There will be someone to meet you on arrival. when
9) The number of people who understand him exceeds his expectations. more people
10) Robert is still decorating the flat. finished
11) The money didn't arrive for a month. It was
12) The teacher made us learn the poem by heart. were
13) She'll have to make her presentation at the end of his speech. the moment he
14) The changes in the earth’s atmosphere have caused many changes in the weather. brought
15) Sharon will finish her exams. Then she will have more free time. once
16) Peter wasn't always so moody. didn't
17) They managed to finish the project in time for the presentation. succeeded
18) Maurice didn't come to the meeting yesterday. Perhaps he was ill. might
19) She hasn’t finished cooking the meal yet. still
20) They used some cold water to cause the patient to regain consciousness. bring
21) It is the most boring book that I’ve ever read. never
22) Jane allows her children to stay up to midnight on Saturday evenings. let
23) Luckily, Peter wasn't charged with an offense when the police caught him. off
24) They had never flown by Concorde before. was
25) Can I accompany you to the party? mind
26) I wish you didn't drive so fast. only
27) He started repairing the roof 3 hours ago. been
28) I think Tom needs to see a doctor. His cough is terrible. ought
29) You should feel horrible! Why did you say that to Jack? shame
30) The authorities said she wasn't responsible for the accident. fault
31) Why don't you take a holiday?"- said Peter. suggested
32) I haven't seen Tom for ages. since
33) Could you wait a moment, please? hold
34) I have never met such an interesting person. ever
35) The thieves robbed the bank and escaped yesterday. held
36) They were still playing tennis after three hours. been
37) He didn't want to join in the celebrations. take
38) I’ve never ridden a camel before. first
39) What a shame he wasn't able to come. wish
40) I took a sweater but it wasn't necessary. taken
41) If you don't know the word, why don't you check it in the dictionary? up
42) Somebody should tell him the news. told
43) The concert was horrible. I regret the evening I spent on it. time
44) It’s a long time since I ate out. have
45) He couldn't find me at the exhibition. to find
46) She let her son go to New York for the weekend. allowed
47) The doctors implemented tests on the patient. carried
48) I haven't seen her for ages. The
49) I didn't understand what he was saying because I hadn't read his book. would
50) They’ve never visited an old castle before. first
51) As the class representative I would like to welcome you. behalf
52) When did they buy their tickets? is
53) They believe the students were educated in Canada. believed
54) He escaped using a disguise. means
55) Remind me to call Jack. forget
56) This pasta is a new experience for me. time
57) She has probably found a new job. likely
58) I don't agree with prohibiting smoking in bars. favour
59) It doesn't need to be finished this afternoon. finish
60) Pittsburgh is less exciting than New York. as
61) He couldn't reach the top shelf because the cupboard was too high. low
62) She didn’t begin cleaning until after all the guests had left. before
63) She didn't accept his marriage proposal. down
64) We were told to wait here by the director. who
65) This car is too expensive for me to buy. enough
66) Can you look after the kids this afternoon? of
67) He acts like a poor man even if he has a lot of money. fact
68) We haven’t seen Carol for 2 weeks. time
69) I didn't mean to break that vase. on
70) I am afraid I'm still having problems with understanding life in New York. used
71) I think we need to get a new car. in
72) I'd prefer it if you didn't smoke in here. mind not
73) Many people were delayed because of the traffic jam. a number
74) It was such an interesting novel I stayed up all night to finish it. so
75) Although he was able to do the job, he wasn't given the position. despite
76) You should have taken the train instead of the bus. had
77) I'm sure he wasn’t at home last night. have
78) Spending a lot of money on clothes is foolish. to
79) I’ve never had such a good meal. ever
80) The manager has raised the subject of redundancy. brought
81) She started collecting postcards 4 years ago. been
82) Children are always happy when schools stop for holidays. break
83) They haven’t finished painting the house yet. still
84) Eating is not allowed in the office. Nobody
85) I’ll go home early if I get through all my work. to
KEY
Sentence transformations (key)
1) This tea is so hot that I can’t drink it. too This tea is too hot for me to drink.
2) I tried to reach Jack by phone but the line was engaged. through I tried to get through Jack but the line was
engaged.
3) Your room needs cleaning. cleaned Your room needs to be cleaned.
4) He started playing rugby 5 years ago. has He has been playing rugby for 5 years.
5) The author has just published a new novel. out The author has just brought out a new novel.
6) The course will take us six months to complete. completed In six months’ time we will have completed the
course.
7) Pictures are not allowed to be taken inside the museum. mustn’t Pictures mustn’t be taken inside the
museum.
8) There will be someone to meet you on arrival. When you arrive someone will be there.
9) The number of people who understand him exceed his expectations. More people understand him than ...
10) Robert is still decorating the flat. finished
11) The money didn't arrive for a month. It was a month before the money arrived.
12) The teacher made us learn the poem by heart. were We were made to learn the poem by heart.
13) She'll have to make her presentation at the end of his speech. The moment he finishes, she'll have to ...
14) The changes in the earth’s atmosphere have caused many changes in the weather. brought The changes in
the earth’s atmosphere have brought about many changes in the weather.
15) Sharon will finish her exams. Then she will have more free time. Once Sharon has finished her exams ...
16) Peter wasn't always so moody. Peter didn't use to be so moody.
17) They managed to finish the project in time for the presentation. succeeded They succeeded in finishing...
18) Maurice didn't come to the meeting yesterday. Perhaps he was ill. might Maurice might have been ill ...
19) She hasn’t finished cooking the meal yet. still She is still cooking the meal.
20) They used some cold water to cause the patient to regain consciousness. bring They used some cold water to
bring the patient round.
21) It is the most boring book that I’ve ever read. never I’ve never read such a boring book.
22) Jane allows her children to stay up to midnight on Saturday evenings. let Jane lets her children stay up
23) Luckily, Peter wasn't charged with an offense when the police caught him stealing the first time. off Peter was
very lucky because he was let off.
24) They had never flown by Concorde before. was It was the first time they had flown by a Concorde.
25) Can I accompany you to the party? mind Do you mind my accompanying you to the party?
26) I wish you didn't drive so fast. only If only you didn’t drive so fast.
27) He started repairing the roof 3 hours ago. been He has been repairing the roof for 3 hours.
28) I think Tom needs to see a doctor. His cough is terrible. ought With that terrible cough, Tom ought to see.
29) You should feel horrible! Why did you say that to Jack? shame Shame on you! Why did you say that to...
30) The authorities said she wasn't responsible for the accident. fault The accident wasn’t her fault.
31) Why don't you take a holiday?", said Peter. suggested Peter suggested that I should take a holiday.
32) I haven't seen Tom for ages. since It's been a long time since I last saw Tom.
33) Could you wait a moment, please? hold Could you hold on a minute, please?
34) I have never met such an interesting person. ever He is the most interesting person I’ve ever met.
35) The thieves robbed the bank and escaped yesterday. held The thieves held up the bank and escaped
yesterday.
36) They were still playing tennis after three hours. been They had been playing tennis for three hours.
37) He didn't want to join in the celebrations. take He didn’t want to take part in the celebrations.
38) I’ve never ridden a camel before. first It is the first time I’ve seen a camel.
39) What a shame he wasn't able to come. wish I wish he had been able to come.
40) I took a sweater but it wasn't necessary. taken I needn’t have taken a sweater.
41) If you don't know how to spell the word, why don't you check in the dictionary? up Why don’t you look the
word up in the dictionary?
42) Somebody should tell him the news. told The news should be told to him. / He should be told the news.
43) The concert was horrible. I regret the evening I spent on it. time The concert was a complete waste of time.
44) It’s a long time since I ate out. have I have not eaten out for a long time.
45) He couldn't find me at the exhibition. to find He wasn’t able to find me at the exhibition.
46) She let her son go to New York for the weekend. allowed She allowed her son to go to New York.
47) The doctors implemented tests on the patient. carried The doctors carried out tests on the patient.
48) I haven't seen her for ages. The The last time I saw her was 15 years ago.
49) I didn't understand what he was saying because I hadn't read his book. would If I had read his book I would
have understood what he was saying.
50) They’ve never visited an old castle before. first It is the first time they’ve visited an old castle.
51) As the class representative I would like to welcome you. behalf I'd like to welcome you on behalf of the ...
52) When did they buy their tickets? is How long is it since they bought their tickets?
53) They believe the students were educated in Canada. believed The students are believed to have been
educated
54) He escaped using a disguise. means He escaped by the means of a disguise.
55) Remind me to call Jack. forget Don’t let me forget to call Jack.
56) This pasta is a new experience for me. time It is the first time I have tried this pasta.
57) She has probably found a new job. likely It is likely she has found a new job.
58) I completely agree with prohibiting smoking in bars. favour I’m in favour of prohibiting smoking in bars.
59) It doesn't need to be finished this afternoon. to finish It isn’t necessary to finish this afternoon.
60) Pittsburgh is less exciting than New York. as Pittsburgh is not as exciting as New York.
61) He couldn't reach the top shelf because the cupboard was too high. low The top shelf wasn’t low enough for
him to reach.
62) She didn’t begin cleaning until after all the guests had left. before She waited until all the guests had left
before she began cleaning.
63) She didn't accept his marriage proposal. down She turned his marriage proposal down.
64) We were told to wait here by the director. who It was the director who told us to wait here.
65) This car is too expensive for me to buy. enough This car is not cheap enough for me to buy.
66) Can you look after the kids this afternoon? of Can you take care of the kids this afternoon?
67) He acts like a poor man even if he has a lot of money. fact Even though he acts like a poor man, he in fact ..
68) We haven’t seen Carol for 2 weeks. time The last time (when) we saw Carol was 2 weeks ago.
69) I didn't mean to break that vase. on I didn't break that vase on purpose.
70) I am afraid I'm still having problems with understanding life in New York. used I’m still not used to living
71) I think we need to get a new car. in In my opinion we need to get a new car.
72) I'd prefer it if you didn't smoke in here. mind not Would you mind not smoking in here.
73) Many people were delayed because of the traffic jam. a number A number of people were delayed ...
74) It was such an interesting novel I stayed up all night to finish it. so The novel was so interesting that I
75) Although he was able to do the job, he wasn't given the position. despite Despite his ability to do the job,
76) You should have taken the train instead of the bus. had If I had been you, I I'd have taken the train
77) I'm sure he wasn’t at home last night. have He can’t have been at home last night.
78) Spending a lot of money on clothes is foolish. to It’s foolish to spend a lot of money on clothes.
79) I’ve never had such a good meal. ever It is the best meal that I have ever had.
80) The manager has raised the subject of redundancy. brought The manager has brought up the subject of
redundancy.
81) She started collecting postcards 4 years ago. been She has been collecting postcards for 4 years.
82) Children are always happy when schools stop for holidays. break Children are always happy when schools
break up for holidays.
83) They haven’t finished painting the house yet. still They are still painting the house.
84) Eating is not allowed in the office. Nobody Nobody is allowed to eat in the office.
85) I’ll go home early if I get through all my work. to I’ll go home early if I manage to do all my work.